1. Field
The present invention relates to methods for manufacturing panels having a decorative surface, or, so-called decorative panels.
More particularly the invention is related to methods for manufacturing panels, wherein said panels at least comprise a substrate and a top layer, wherein said top layer comprises a paper layer having a printed pattern. The panels of the invention may relate to furniture panels, ceiling panels, flooring panels or similar, wherein these panels preferably comprise a wood based substrate, such as an MDF or HDF substrate (Medium or High Density Fiberboard) or a substrate consisting of, or essentially made of, wood particleboard.
2. Related Art
Traditionally, the decor or pattern of such panels is printed on paper by means of offset or rotogravure printing. The obtained paper is taken up as a decorative paper in a so called laminate panel. According to the DPL process (Direct Pressure Laminate) the already printed paper or decorative paper is provided with melamine resin to form a decorative layer. Afterwards a stack is formed comprising at least a plate shaped substrate, said decorative layer and possibly a protective layer on top of said decorative layer, wherein said protective layer or overlay is based on resin and/or paper as well.
Said stack is pressed and the press treatment results in a mutual connection or adherence of the decorative paper, the substrate and the protective layer, as well as in a hardening of the resin present in the stack. As a result of the pressing operation a decorative panel is obtained having a melamine surface, which can be highly wear resistant. At the bottom side of the plate shaped substrate a counter layer or balancing layer can be applied, or as an alternative a decorative layer might be attached to the bottom side as well, especially in the case of laminate panels for furniture. Such a counter layer or balancing layer or any other layer at the bottom side of the laminate panel restricts or prevents possible bending of the decorative panel, and is applied in the same press treatment, for example by the provision of a resin carrying paper layer as the lowermost layer of the stack, at the side of the stack opposite said decorative layer. For examples of a DPL process reference is made to the EP 1 290 290, from which it is further known to provide a relief in said melamine surface during the same press treatment or pressing operation, namely by bringing said melamine surface in contact with a structured press element, for example a structured press plate.
The printing of paper by means of an analog printing process, such as by rotogravure or offset printing, at affordable prices inevitably leads to large minimal order quantities of a particular decorative paper and restricts the attainable flexibility. A change of decor or pattern necessitates a standstill of the printing equipment of about 24 hours. This standstill time is needed for exchange of the printing rollers, the cleaning of the printing equipment and for adjusting the colors of the new decor or pattern to be printed.
Providing the printed paper with resin can lead to expansion of the paper, which is difficult to control. Problems can arise, particularly in the cases where, like in the EP 1 290 290, a correspondence between the relief and the printed decor is desired.
With the aim of restricting the costs of decorative paper and of preventing expansion, a method is known, for example from the DE 197 25 829 C1, wherein the analog printing process, for example an offset process, is used to print directly on the plate shaped substrate, whether or not with the intermediary of preparatory layers, such as melamine based layers. The printed decor is finished with melamine based layers and the created whole is cured using a pressing operation. Directly printing on the plate may lead to inferior printing quality. Any inhomogeneity internally in the plate or at its surface has a high risk of telegraphing to the upper surface, thereby forming a visual defect at the surface of the finished decorative panel. The printing process furthermore shows the same problems regarding the attainable flexibility, as when printing on paper. Finally, any quality issue on the print will result in loss of valuable board material.
Instead of analog printing techniques digital printing techniques, especially inkjet printing technique, is becoming increasingly popular for the creation of decors or patterns, be it on paper or directly on a plate-shaped substrate possibly with the intermediary of preparatory layers. Such digital techniques can enhance the flexibility in the printing of decors significantly. Reference is made to the EP 1 872 959, WO 2011/124503, EP 1 857 511, EP 2 431 190 and the EP 2 293 946, where such techniques are disclosed.
The method of the invention more particularly at least comprises the step of providing said paper layer with at least a portion of said printed pattern by means of a digital inkjet printer. Preferably multi color printed patterns are applied for the realization of a decor, e.g. representing a wood pattern, on the abovementioned paper layer. Such decor extends over the majority, or even over the totality of the paper layer. Such a technique is known as such for example from the EP 2 132 041, where a digital printer, more particularly an inkjet printer is applied for printing on a resin provided paper layer. It has however been very difficult to reliably produce such printed paper for manufacturing laminate panels on a large scale and with high production efficiency. Nozzles of the print head may become clogged due to evaporation of the vehicle of the inks and/or due to dust for example origination from the handling of the paper layer. Clogged or failing nozzles in the print heads may lead to unacceptable defaults in the printed pattern. Pretreatment of the paper layer, such as application of resin, in a non-uniform way may lead to unacceptable defects that become visible after printing.
It should be noted that the printing quality desired for the manufacturing of panels having a decorative surface is exceptionally high. Indeed, any default in a printed pattern forming an imitation of e.g. wood immediately draws the attention of the customer, taking away the illusion of e.g. real wood.